The Best of Both Worlds
by Missyhissy3
Summary: JC story, set Season Two, beginning immediately after Janeway says 'Two to beam up" in 'Resolutions'. Before he gets eaten by that rubbery monster in 'Basics', I decided Hogan deserved a bigger part. AU.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: the characters are obviously not mine.

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AN: Today is northernexposure's birthday, and I would love to make her smile on her special day... But, since she is trying hard to kick the escapist JC habit, any supportive friend would obviously help her in her endeavour, rather than write more JC stories dedicated to her, deviously undermining her attempts to quit. So - this isn't for northenexposure and even if it was (which it like so isn't) J and C aren't in it much at all;)

Massive Thank You to Photogirl1890 for the beta read and for supplying the idea for this story when I begged her for inspiration. When she suggested it, I wasn't 100% sure she was being serious or that she thought I'd actually write it - but I thought it was a totally trek idea. It's done - so here's the whole thing.

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This starts immediately after Janeway says, 'Two to beam up', not far from the end of 'Resolutions'

Chapter one

 _Voyager_ had just arrived back in orbit of the planet where they had been forced to leave Captain Janeway and Commander Chakotay, when B'Elanna Torres's combadge chirped.

" _Hogan to Torres_."

B'Elanna could hear loud cursing in the background of her friend's call, but she couldn't quite place the voice. "Torres here."

" _I need you in transporter room one, now! And bring Harry Kim. Fast!"_

"What is it?"

" _Just…_ " more swearing, as well as a strangled yelp accompanied Hogan's plea this time. " _Just get here fast. OK?_ "

"All right. Keep your hair on. I'm on my way."

On her way to the transporter room, B'Elanna almost ran into Harry as she rounded a corner at speed.

"Any idea why he called us?" she asked Kim.

"We just heard from Captain Janeway. She gave the order to beam them up. Maybe they need help carrying something they've brought back from the planet."

B'Elanna frowned.

"I remember you said Chakotay likes to carve things out of natural materials," Harry went on. "They've been down there nearly three months – maybe he made something pretty big."

B'Elanna remained sceptical. "You don't need the chief engineer and the operations officer for that."

"True. But maybe you're the first person Chakotay wanted to see," Kim suggested encouragingly.

"And what, Janeway's been missing _you_ , Starfleet?" she countered.

Harry pursed his lips in response as they entered the transporter room and further speculation became redundant.

B'Elanna gasped as she took in the impossibility that stood on the transporter pad and Harry Kim swore. Harry. Swore.

"Kahless in stockings! Hogan, what did you _do_?" B'Elanna exclaimed.

Hogan, his face as white as a sheet and his hands trembling in mid-air over the transporter controls, appeared to have lost the power of speech.

"Again? _Seriously_?" B'Elanna queried in disbelief.

Harry joined the unfortunate Hogan in staring, open-mouthed at the apparition before them.

The tall redhead on the transporter pad was in the process of pulling off the tattered remains of a uniform jacket. Once the worst of it had fallen onto the pad, honey coloured skin was clearly visible where a pair of broad shoulders had caused the seams of the turtleneck underneath to split. What remained of the turtleneck was stretched taut across the outline of the surprisingly noticeable breasts that were just barely contained within what was left of the undergarment. Something about this person's posture seemed to push their breasts up and forwards.

Then the mesmerising being began turning over their large, lightly tanned hands and examining their long fingers and immaculately manicured fingernails.

A moment later, the apparition looked up to take in Harry and B'Elanna.

"Get him away from that console, _now_ , B'Elanna," the apparition ordered, pointing towards Hogan.

"Right… um… Right," B'Elanna managed eventually.

Pushing the mass of Jell-O that was Hogan out of the way, her stalling brain tried to make sense of the astonishing new reality standing before her.

Immediately, the figure began firing out orders, while shaking each foot in turn and leaving behind the remains of a pair of ripped standard issue women's boots and some thin material – presumably socks.

"B'Elanna, take all the transporters off-line immediately and find out what went wrong. Harry, I need you to access the program the Doctor devised to separate Tuvix."

A flash of crimson toenail polish caught B'Elanna's eye as she took in the large bare feet descending the steps from the transporter pad.

The engineer's gaze moved up to see the tatters of what must have been Janeway's uniform pants. Large strips of material hung down in shreds from the waistband, which was now stretched to its limits. B'Elanna dreaded to think what the back must look like. The uniform pants were already tight across the butt on most people – before they'd swallowed a colleague whole, that was.

Through the large gaps between the remaining strips of black material, a pair of long, tanned, muscular legs were clearly visible. Legs with surprisingly shapely, hairless calves. The front of the pants had ripped wide open, but, mercifully, Janeway must have been wearing panties made of a fabric with plenty of give in it, because they hadn't split. They were now stretched over a sizeable bulge. This seemed to confirm without much room for doubt - if anyone present hadn't already worked it out - that the figure standing before them was the result of another Tuvix-style transporter accident, this time involving a fusing together of the Captain and her first officer.

Harry was still standing next to the hapless Hogan, mirroring his posture, gawping dumbstruck. B'Elanna wasn't surprised. The vision before them was enough to reduce even the most seasoned Starfleet officer to a pool of plasma.

It was impossible to say immediately if there was more of Janeway or of Chakotay in the amalgamation before them, but it was also impossible not to stare like a fool, trying to work it out.

The new person was tall, but noticeably slimmer than Chakotay, as the torso tapered dramatically from the undeniably broad shoulders down into a trim waist, which then curved out to form slim but shapely hips.

B'Elanna's gaze moved up to take in the honeyed complexion and the facial features. Chakotay's tattoo was still there, although the lines were paler, but the auburn hair was all Janeway – most of it still secured in a thick braid. The delicate ears, the shape of the eyes, the curve of the cheeks and the chin were clearly courtesy of the Captain, but the jawline, the slight kink in the nose and that mouth? Unmistakably Chakotay. The fuller lips still somehow managed to carry off Janeway's trademark red lipstick, and as B'Elanna watched, they began issuing orders again.

"The program. Now, Harry!"

As if the vision before them wasn't already enough to stop traffic, the immobilisation of the three young officers was compounded by the absolutely mesmerising low voice that came out of the succulent red mouth. Forthright and commanding, lower in pitch than pure Janeway, resounding and melodious, with only the occasional gravely rasp, it was also strikingly seductive. It was a voice that demanded attention, and got it, instantly.

B'Elanna tried to force herself to focus, since she had yet to begin taking the transporters off-line. Harry hadn't lifted a finger towards the control panel yet either.

"Lieutenant Torres, Ensign Kim! Do I need to remind you I'm still your commanding officer?" the apparition demanded, clearly irritated by their inaction.

"Sorry, I.. um..." Harry floundered. "I… I can't access that program- Not here. You'll need to be in sickbay."

"Fine," the new arrival harrumphed, a long elegant finger and thumb coming up to pinch the bridge of the strong nose. "You'd better tell Tuvok to join us there."

B'Elanna caught Harry's eye for the first time since they'd entered the room, and his mouth moved, but no sounds came out.

"I'll need _you_ to run the separation program, B'Elanna," the alluring voice went on. "I'm not listening to the Doctor go through his objections to performing the procedure again. Not while I'm forced to stand there looking like... this." A sweeping, yet graceful hand-gesture accompanied the remark.

Finding her voice again, B'Elanna nodded. "Right." Immediately, she contacted the bridge to request Tuvok meet them in sickbay.

"This situation can't be allowed to continue any longer than is absolutely necessary," their new leader declared as soon as B'Elanna had closed the channel. "Let's go."

Forcing her gaze not to stray from her new commanding officer's face, the young engineer spoke up. "It's clear we can't risk a site-to-site, but are you sure you want to walk there? Like that?"

B'Elanna held the gaze of her interlocutor and found herself fixed by the searchlight-strength glare of a pair of truly striking eyes - deep blue, with streaks of chestnut that radiated out from the centre of each iris like bolts of lightning. Entranced by these bewitchingly beautiful eyes, B'Elanna momentarily forgot what she was supposed to be doing.

Luckily, Harry finally found his voice. "Maybe you could try a larger uniform?" he suggested tentatively.

Looking down, the owner of the hypnotic eyes seemed to become aware for the first time of the demands of modesty. "Fine. Harry, replicate me one now. Better make it an extra large."

Harry seemed to have recovered enough to make himself properly useful and moved to the replicator to pull up the uniform specs.

As B'Elanna watched, the new arrival shoved a hand rather indelicately up under the remnants of the turtleneck and grappled with something. After some hasty fumbling, the hand reappeared with scraps of what must have once been Janeway's bra. As the scraps were discarded onto the floor, B'Elanna found it impossible to keep her eyes from drifting down to take in the newly visible pert nipples, straining against the stretched grey fabric of the turtleneck.

"This should be a better fit," Harry remarked with nervous cheerfulness as he handed over the newly replicated uniform.

After shouldering into the jacket, the new arrival ripped off the over-stretched waistband of the old pants with one forceful yank and tossed it aside, the remaining tatters of Janeway's uniform trailing with it like macabre black bunting. Then the figure bent to pull on the new larger pants while the three young officers completely failed not to stare openly.

Once dressed, the new person before them stood tall and tugged on each cuff in turn, trying to adjust how the jacket sat over their broad shoulders.

"Right. That'll do."

The trio opposite recovered themselves enough to finally stop gawping and descend from behind the control panel.

"Let's go," their new leader ordered, the bar of command red on the uniform picking out quite nicely the crimson of the toenail polish as bare feet led the way out into the corridor.


	2. Chapter 2

AN: Photogirl's prompt was _"How about an alternate version of 'Tuvix' called 'Chakway' where J and C are the ones merged in the transporter?"_

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Chapter Two

The turbolift ride to deck five was a tense affair.

B'Elanna struggled to keep her eyes forward. Now that they were in confined quarters, Hogan seemed to fare even worse; he slumped against the 'lift wall whimpering quietly to himself. And as for Harry, B'Elanna had no idea where his head was when he decided to break the uncomfortable silence a few seconds in.

"So, how was your time on the planet, Captain- and um, Commander?"

"If you think I'm making small talk with you right now, Mr Kim, you're seriously mistaken," the crushed velvet voice shut him down instantly.

"Sorry, Sir- I mean, Captain? I'm sorry- I'm not sure what to call you."

"Just 'Captain', Harry. I see no need to complicate things further."

Then Hogan suddenly looked up and blurted out, "Oh God. They're never going to let me within ten light-years of the transporter controls ever again are they?"

B'Elanna snorted, exasperated and rolled her eyes at him. _You think?!_

"Maybe you should consider switching to security," Harry offered optimistically.

"What, before she? _he?_ puts me off the ship, you mean? Oh God! This is a nightmare. It's worse than last ti-"

" _She_ is standing right next to you, Mr Hogan," the new arrival cut in decisively.

"I'm sorry. I just- I- I don't know what hap-"

"Hogan, get a grip!" B'Elanna ordered, grasping his arm firmly. "You're babbling. The Captain has more important things to worry about right now."

"I know, but-"

"Ensign Hogan! That's quite enough," the new Captain growled. "No one is going to put you off the ship." A large hand came up and skilfully tucked a strand of hair back into the braid. "Although if you keep on like that, it might start to sound like a good idea."

 _She_. B'Elanna's eyes shifted up and left to steal a glance at her new superior officer. _I'd have guessed 'he' actually_.

B'Elanna's thinking was swayed by the tall stature, the masculine angles of the square jaw, the curve of the Adam's apple and that impressive bulge, now housed inside the extra large uniform pants. Klingon men often had far longer hair, and it wasn't all that unusual to see a human man with breasts – although B'Elanna had to concede that the new Captain's bosom was far more prominent, feminine and shapely than your average pair of man-boobs.

On the other hand, it wasn't surprising. Gender identity in humans was often hard to predict, and if it was a toss up between whose sense of self would dominate the new psyche, then 'she' made total sense. Poor Chakotay - even when his and Janeway's atoms had been scattered and rearranged he was still fated to serve under her.

Who knew how things would pan out from here, though? The new Captain's body must be awash with an exotic cocktail of hormones, so perhaps tomorrow could just as well be a 'he' day? And a flexible gender identity would be respected, even if it might lead to the occasional moment of confusion, since self-determination was a centuries-old concept.

A few even more uncomfortable seconds later, B'Elanna's reverie was interrupted by the small group's arrival at deck five.

XxX

Tuvok, the Doctor and Kes were waiting for them in sickbay.

The new Captain strode through the doors and stood facing the assembled officers. B'Elanna couldn't help but be interested to see how they'd react.

The Doctor raised an eyebrow and said "Hmm" – the subroutine responsible for his acerbic wit apparently disabled temporarily by shock. Kes just looked on, wide-eyed – maybe her recent experience with Tuvix was still fresh in her mind – and Tuvok blinked, twice.

"It would appear the additional training Mr Hogan received following the last incident was insufficient," the Vulcan observed, now raising one eyebrow an infinitesimal amount at the sight of his new combined commanding officer.

"I don't know what happened, Sir," the distraught Hogan began whimpering again. "There was no warning. I swear it wasn't anything I did."

Tuvok appeared unmoved.

B'Elanna clamped a hand onto Hogan's arm, even more forcefully this time and mercifully he stopped talking.

"Our new leader, I presume?' the Doctor asked casually, inspecting the new Captain with mild interest, as if amalgamated crew members appeared in sickbay every day. Then again... "I presume you still answer to 'Captain'?"

"Naturally, Doctor. Since I'm the ranking officer on board – doubly so, in fact," the new arrival replied smoothly, her chin tilting up a fraction as she spoke.

"And I presume you don't intend to stay in your present incarnation?" the Doctor clarified dryly. "I realise you've always been keen to promote the merging of the two crews, but this does seem to be taking things a little far."

"Of course, Doctor. The sooner we get started the better."

The hologram paused as if in thought, then replied, "Although, there might be advantages to staying as you are. I realise the Tholians have given hermaphrodites a bad name with their xenophobic customs, but the Plummeth of Volaris 4 are often overlooked. They're very welcoming and are thought by many to be some of the most attractive species, aesthetically speaking, in the whole of the Alpha Quadrant."

"Given that I'm not planning on entering any beauty pageants, I'm not sure that's really relevant, Doctor," the new Captain replied coolly. "And I'm not having anyone turn this into a debate about the possibility of human hermaphroditism. The fact remains that, until a few hours ago, we were two people, and we'd prefer to be two people again. As soon as possible."

"Very good, Captain. I'll begin the preliminary scans immediately."

The new Captain turned, addressing with calm authority the officers accompanying her. "Harry, B'Elanna, download all available data about the transport itself onto this workstation. And Ensign Hogan, you'll need to stay in case Ensign Kim or Lieutenant Torres have questions. "

"Mr Hogan," said the Doctor curtly, "once they're done with you, I'll give you a sedative and you can take yourself off to lie in a darkened room."

"I think I'd like that, Doctor," the unfortunate Ensign croaked, still visibly trembling.

"Let's get to work, everyone," their new leader instructed. "I want answers. Fast."

XxX

The new Captain worked for hours with Tuvok, Harry and B'Elanna analysing the data on the transports. And then she assisted the Doctor and Kes with determining what might be salvaged and adapted from the first separation technique devised for Tuvix a few months earlier. However, despite all of their efforts and the seemingly endless stream of ideas and inspiration the extremely capable new Captain came up with, it seemed they were all getting nowhere fast.

After the second fruitless hour, Harry helped his new leader select some footwear. The regulation boots didn't seem to fit, so the new Captain ended up choosing a pair of soft black suede boots with chunky soles and a heel – not too high, but far from flat. The Captain did look very tall once the boots were on, but as his new commanding officer was quite vocal in praise of the new boots, Harry considered it a job well done.

Another four long hours and no answers later, everyone's nerves – except, it seemed, their new leader's – were beginning to fray and the situation seemed to B'Elanna to be deteriorating.

Much to everyone's surprise, and one person's abject mortification, the only factor common to this transport and to the transport that created Tuvix, appeared to be the presence of the hapless Mr Hogan. Once this became apparent, Hogan became even less use and was quickly dispatched to his quarters with appropriate medication.

Then, taking command of the situation by moving to the centre of sickbay and standing tall, hands on shapely hips, the new Captain addressed the officers present.

"We've been at this hours and we don't seem to be making any progress. I, for one, am hungry, so I suggest we call it a day – a very long day – and get something to eat. Dismissed." The auburn braid swished out as their new de-facto leader tilted her head to one side and massaged her neck. "We can redouble our efforts in the morning."

Harry, B'Elanna and the holographic physician all immediately looked to Tuvok. No one had questioned yet whether they should still be taking orders from this new person. B'Elanna felt sure it should be up to Tuvok to broach the subject. The Vulcan didn't as much as twitch.

Apparently sensing the hesitation in the officers around her, the new Captain took the bull by the horns. "If anyone intends to question my authority, they'd better do it now. Speak now or forever hold your peace, as they say." The striking sapphire and chestnut eyes swept over everyone in turn. "I have no intention of letting anyone relieve me of my command. I defy anyone to find a better-qualified individual to run this ship – my ship, and to lead this crew – _my_ crew."

Finally, Tuvok stepped forward, toe-to-toe with the new arrival.

"If _Voyager_ were the issue in hand, I would concur, Captain. However," he went on evenly, "in matters regarding your fate as an individual, I will have to insist that the responsibility for making decisions falls to me, as next in command. If our experience with Mr Tuvix is anything to go by, it is unlikely you will be able to achieve the necessary degree of objectivity to take those decisions yourself."

"That remains to be seen, Mr Tuvok." The glare was full Janeway-strength, and then some. "For now, I suggest you shelve thoughts of mutiny, and get something to eat before we all drop from exhaustion. I presume _that_ isn't a contentious matter."

"You presume correctly, Captain, and I doubt mutiny will be necessary. I would concur that the humans present should eat at this time. The Doctor and Kes will continue the work here and I will relieve Mr Paris on the bridge."

"Agreed. And we've lost time with all this. Before long we'll need to resume course for the Alpha Quadrant at high warp and see if we can make some of it up."

B'Elanna and Harry exchanged uneasy glances, and B'Elanna tried to catch Tuvok's eye. Surely it would be unwise to leave the scene of the transporter accident before they'd determined what exactly happened? What if they needed to recreate the exact conditions of the transport in order to reverse it?

Tuvok ignored her pointed attempts to get his attention, however, and exited immediately to head for the bridge.

When the other officers left sickbay a few minutes later, after the Captain had given the Doctor some last minute instructions, B'Elanna was grateful to get away from their intense work and was sure Harry must be too.

As they followed their new leader down the corridor towards the 'lift, B'Elanna wondered if Harry was also noticing how the new heels he'd helped the Captain choose affected a subtle change in the her posture, accentuating her curvaceous backside, as well as adding a little more swing to her hips.

During the 'lift ride, B'Elanna kept expecting the Captain to say she would prefer to eat in her ready room or in her quarters, to avoid having to deal with the reaction of the crew, but she didn't.

The new Captain exited the 'lift and set off at a brisk pace towards the mess hall, her junior officers following cautiously behind. As B'Elanna increased her pace to keep up with the long strides leading the way, it began to dawn on her that over the past few hours, the new arrival's attitude to her situation had been gradually changing. Her initial agitation, as well as her anger, seemed to have completely abated. At this point, she appeared to be increasingly- _alarmingly_ – at home in her role as their new leader.

B'Elanna began to wonder whether she would ever see Janeway and Chakotay again.

Perhaps it was time to start plotting that mutiny after all.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter three

Tom Paris had just arrived in the sparsely populated mess hall and he was leaning against the far end of the serving counter, minding his own business. More accurately, he was minding the command team's business by quizzing Neelix on whether Kes had been in touch from sickbay with an update yet when who should walk in but the very subject of his enquiries, flanked by Harry Kim and B'Elanna Torres.

News of the transporter accident had filtered through the decks predictably quickly, so everyone had an idea what had gone on, but it was unlikely anyone had expected the new Captain to appear in the messhall quite so soon. A sudden anticipatory hush descended over the room as all eyes were drawn to the tall, striking figure striding purposefully in.

"Oh my! What a vision of loveliness!" Neelix cooed, his yellowy eyes almost popping out of his head. "Now that's what I call the full package!"

"I guess all bets are off on how close the Captain and Chakotay became while they were down on that planet," Tom observed quietly. "Kind of a moot point now."

The little Talaxian was too caught up with the visual feast before him to respond. He came out from behind the hatch and went straight up to the statuesque redhead. He took one of her large hands in his. "Well, hello there!"

"Hello, Neelix." The new Captain smiled down at the chef, two Chakotay-esque dimples appearing for the first time. Then she gave Neelix an affectionate pat. "How have you been?"

"Good," the little Talaxian beamed, looking directly into his new commanding officer's eyes. "Although we've all missed you a great deal – both of you, of course. I'm so very glad we succeeded in getting the antidote from Dr Pel, and I'm delighted that you're… back."

"Thank you, Neelix. I'm very glad too. I realise all this must seem strange to everyone, but I'm sure things will soon settle down."

"I'm sure you're right, Captain." Neelix nodded encouragingly.

"So, what have you got for me this evening?"

His pupils dilating even further, the chef rubbed his hands on his apron and scurried eagerly back behind the serving hatch to noisily lift various lids off various pans.

"Well, that depends on what you're in the mood for, Captain. Salad, soup, a risotto? I'm sure I can come up with something that'll satisfy you."

"Just fix me up a selection of small portions from today's menu. I'll take it from there. And then to follow, I'd like one of those flaming Mayan coffees Chakotay had you make for him a while ago, please."

"Very good, Captain. Coming right up!"

Then Megan Delaney came to join Tom at the far end of the serving counter.

Tom glanced her way, observing quietly, "It's a good thing Neelix is spoken for, romantically speaking. Otherwise, I think he'd be in danger of propositioning our new leader."

Megan squeezed Tom's arm and giggled. Then she made her way out, staring openly at the new Captain and batting her eyelashes as she passed. Doubtless, it would only be a matter of minutes now before the details of this little trip to the mess hall had made it as far as the very bowels of the ship. Even Mortimer Harren might not manage to avoid hearing about this.

Tom moved to the other end of the hatch to join the queue behind Harry and B'Elanna. After all, it'd be rude not to say hello. He waited for the new Captain to notice him.

"Mr Paris. I trust you're well?" came the rather wary enquiry.

"I am, thank you, Captain." Tom found himself staring openly at this Chakotified Janeway. At how the little dynamo of a captain seemed to have been stretched and fleshed out until there was almost two metres of her. And how she'd taken on some aspects of the facial features and a hint of the colouring of her irritatingly handsome first officer.

Finding himself unexpectedly mesmerised for a moment, now that he was in her immediate proximity, Tom had to make a positive effort to regroup. As he did so, it occurred to him that, as far as he knew, neither Neelix nor Tuvok had retained any of Tuvix's memories. So… perhaps Tom could risk a little insubordination here.

"Have you thought of a name yet, Captain?" he asked.

"No," the Captain replied curtly.

"How about Captain Janotay?" Tom suggested. "Or Captain Janwakotay. That has a certain ring to it, don't you think? Or maybe you'd prefer to go with something simpler – like Captain Chakway, say?"

"Lieutenant! That's enough." The large bronze hands went to the shapely hips.

Paris locked eyes with his new commanding officer and was struck immediately by the truly stunning fiery orbs glaring at him.

"Sorry, Captain. I was just trying to help," Paris recovered, now a picture of innocence. "After all, unless you intend to follow the Doctor's example, you are going to need a name."

"And you'll be the first to know when I've chosen it."

Neelix appeared with plates of food for the Captain, Harry and B'Elanna, and they seated themselves opposite the serving hatch. Tom lingered a moment by their table.

"Thank you for your hard work today, Harry, B'Elanna," the new Captain purred, as she prepared to start dinner. The two exhausted looking young officers nodded their acknowledgment and began to tuck in hungrily to their food.

"May I say that I love the voice, Captain?" Tom risked. "It's very commanding."

"Mr Paris," the Captain growled, looking up from her dinner and flashing her devastating eyes at him. "Before long, I may feel the need to establish my authority by making an example of the first person who steps out of line. I'd hate for it to be you. Is that clear?"

"Crystal, Ma'am."

The flashing glare he was on the receiving end of this time was nothing short of homicidal.

After quietly expressing his heartfelt wishes of luck to Harry and B'Elanna with their attempts to bring back Janeway - and even Chakotay - Tom slunk out.

As he made his way down the corridor, he found himself wondering what would happen if the new arrival began to resist the idea of restoring Janeway and Chakotay. Tuvix hadn't exactly gone quietly. One thing was clear; this new Captain was a force to be reckoned with. No one should have expected her to be anything less.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter four

B'Elanna entered Tom Paris's quarters at speed.

Already squashed into the small living area were Tom, Harry, Kes, Samantha Wildman, Joe Carey, and Mike Ayala. The Doctor's face was visible on the screen of the workstation via the emergency medical channel.

"Finally," Paris greeted her. "Glad you could spare the time."

"I'm still on duty," she reminded him curtly. "The chief engineer can't just down tools and disappear. I had to come up with a believable reason. I said you'd forgotten to deliver one of the systems reports I needed, so I'd go get it myself."

Tom quirked a resigned eyebrow. "Great."

Keen to stay close to the door and be first back to work, B'Elanna was forced to squeeze in between Ayala's large frame and that of _Voyager'_ s pilot. She quickly took in their surroundings.

"This room is a tip, Paris." She scrunched up her nose. "You live like a pig. This place probably needs an industrial strength deep-clean."

"Don't let me stop you. I'll be happy to pay you the going rate for housekeeping," Paris drawled.

"Will you two stop it?" Harry interrupted, losing patience with his friends. "Now B'Elanna's here we need to think of a plan. And fast."

"Harry's right," Kes confirmed. "There's no time to waste. Ever since the Doctor announced that he'd finally managed to devise a successful separation program, our new Captain has been stalling. A lot of the crew are worried that she's never going to agree to the procedure."

"Each time I try to set a time to meet her in sickbay to go ahead with it," B'Elanna told the assembled officers, "she comes up with another reason why it can't be today, or tomorrow, or the day after."

"If it weren't for the exceptionally innovative technique I've managed to devise, we'd be stuck with this new Captain indefinitely," the Doctor added from the monitor. "She was far more interested in leaving orbit than in the progress of my work."

Kes addressed the him via the small screen. "We're all very grateful to you for your hard work, Doctor. Everyone was shocked that Tuvok agreed to follow her order to resume course before you'd found a solution."

"Now that the Doctor has found a way, the sooner we separate them the better," Joe Carey said. "Because every day, the new Captain seems to be winning over more people. This morning I overheard Lieutenant Baxter say he thought it'd be a mistake to use the separation program now."

"How do the Maquis feel about never seeing Chakotay again?" Harry asked, looking at B'Elanna and Mike Ayala.

"It's not just the Maquis, Harry," B'Elanna threw back at him immediately. "A lot of the Starfleet crew aren't happy about it either. Ensign Golwat keeps seeking me out to ask what we're going to do."

"It's true," confirmed Samantha Wildman. "She's been having panic attacks about the possibility of never seeing Chakotay again."

Paris stifled a snort and B'Elanna rolled her eyes at him.

"And no one adores Captain Janeway as much as Chell," Samantha went on. "He's been telling anyone who'll listen that it's time for the crew to do something. He'd be here himself but he's on still duty."

"Hardly surprising in either case," the Doctor said dismissively. "Bolians are a particularly sentimental species."

Harry raised his eyebrows and B'Elanna wondered which particular sub-routine was responsible for the EMH's all-too-human prejudices.

Then Harry said, "And every day the new Captain's getting rid of more and more of Captain Janeway and Chakotay's personal items. She's already recycled several of the Captain's ornaments in the ready room, as well as that photo of her fiancé. She's replaced it with a much larger one of the dog."

"And when I went into Chakotay's quarters," said Ayala, "I found that his sand paintings have disappeared."

"It's not all bad news then," Tom remarked quietly.

B'Elanna elbowed him forcefully in the ribs and he yelped.

"This is serious, Tom," rebuked Kim. "What if the new Captain decides to change all of _Voyager_ 's command codes or something? Now that Tuvok's instructed the computer to accept voice commands from her, she could cause havoc. Hold us all to ransom."

"What about Tuvok and Neelix?' asked Lieutenant Carey. "Is it true she has them both wrapped around her little finger?"

"Neelix is a lost cause," Tom said, making a show of rubbing his side where his neighbour had poked him. "He keeps telling her how lovely she looks and following her around like a love-sick puppy – no offence, Kes."

"That's all right Tom." Kes smiled a long-suffering smile. "I've tried talking to him." Her soft voice was deadly serious. "He won't listen. He's totally under her spell."

"Really?" Carey frowned. "Of everyone on the ship I'd have expected Tuvok and Neelix to be in the biggest hurry to get Janeway and Chakotay back."

"It's come as a surprise to everyone," Samantha Wildman assured him.

"You need to be up close and see the new Captain in action to understand it," Tom explained. "She knows exactly how to appeal to some of Tuvok's well-hidden emotions. If she stays, Tuvok gets to be first officer, he doesn't have to deal with Chakotay any more, and he also gets to carry on instructing our new Captain in the art of Vulcan meditation. She asked him for lessons. She's clever. She's flattering him, manipulating him, and so far, he's falling for it."

Harry nodded enthusiastically, adding, "And she's so slippery in any sort of debate! I can't believe the way she manages to turn my arguments against me. I end up agreeing with her every time."

"As for Tuvok," the Doctor's voice added from the monitor, "he seems to be spending a lot of off-duty time tête à tête with her in her quarters. She invites him in there for breakfast every morning and they share a nightcap every evening."

More looks of consternation passed between the assembled officers and B'Elanna marvelled silently at how the Doctor never failed to be somehow up to speed on all the latest ship's gossip.

"The sooner we get her off the bridge the better," Ayala pointed out. "She went crazy when she saw Seska on the viewscreen yesterday and heard that Chakotay's baby is in danger."

"That's right," agreed Harry. "I've never seen Janeway or Chakotay behave that way."

"Not long after that, she almost killed our Kazon guest in sickbay," the EMH added. "I was forced to intervene. I've never been so grateful to be a hologram. The Captain certainly has a powerful left hook."

"Nobody messes with mama bear's cub," said Paris. "That's what that was about."

The others murmured in assent.

"We need to stop her before she leads us into one of Seska's traps," B'Elanna pointed out. "Chakotay's judgment was already all over the place when it came to Seska. Now, with the baby thing, there's a dash of Janeway's maternal instinct in the mix too. We need stop her before she ends up losing the ship and getting us all killed."

"If you can get her to sickbay," the Doctor said, "I can have everything ready for the procedure. However much I'd like to this time, my ethical subroutines still prevent me from running the program myself."

"We can't do it when she's on duty," Harry stated. "It could leave the ship vulnerable if it isn't one hundred per cent clear who's in command. We don't want Seska's allies or any other potentially hostile aliens seeing us in turmoil."

There were more murmurs of agreement.

"Now we know where Chakotay's child is," said Harry, "the pressure is off for a while. We won't arrive at the Gema colony for almost three days. The Captain'll decide it's time to sleep eventually. We should ambush her when she goes to her quarters tonight."

"OK. So we need a plan that neither Tuvok nor Neelix can mess up for us," B'Elanna mused.

"Someone could invite her to Sandrine's," Tom said. "Then we wouldn't have to risk Tuvok turning up in her quarters to share a nightcap. If he asks the computer to locate her and it says she's in the holodeck, he's less likely to want to join her. We keep her there until it empties out and anyone sympathetic to her plight has gone. Then we sedate her somehow and get her to sickbay." He surveyed those present for a moment. "You should ask her, B'Elanna. She likes you. She trusts you."

"Tom's right," Harry agreed.

"How do you work that one out?" B'Elanna narrowed her eyes at Paris.

"She chose you to run the program when she first materialised," Harry said. "After Neelix and Tuvok, you're probably next in line in terms of who she trusts. She won't suspect anything."

"What's the matter?" The corner of Paris's mouth curled up as he spoke. "Worried you're not up to an evening of girl talk? Surely you'd go that extra mile if that's what it takes to get Chakotay and the Captain back?"

B'Elanna supressed a growl, as well as a seductively vivid mental image of her hands tightening around Tom Paris's pale throat.

"What if she says no?" B'Elanna challenged. "If she doesn't want to come, she won't. I can tell you now, she's the most stubborn person I've ever met."

"Actually, I think she'll be very keen to accept," said Kes. "Neelix told me she said she thought Janeway had made a big mistake not socialising more with the crew."

"Great. That settles it then. We have a plan," Tom summed up. "Phase one is up to you, B'Elanna. All of us who aren't on the nightshift will meet you in the holodeck."

B'Elanna nodded and took a deep breath. It was going to be a long night.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter five

The following morning, Tom Paris stepped off the turbolift onto the bridge and made his way down to relieve Ensign Culhane, content in his conviction that it was going to be a good day.

The munity had gone to plan – more or less. Tuvok had probably noted it in his security log, but no one (apart from Harry) was losing any sleep over that.

Tom reflected with satisfaction that everything was back where it should be. Chakotay's bulge was back inside the constrictive uniform pants, Janeway's perfectly formed breasts were back inside her shapeless, unflattering jumpsuit, and Tuvok's backside was one step further away from the seat of power again.

Already in their usual places centre-bridge, the results of the successful uprising greeted Tom as he took his seat.

"Good morning, Mr Paris." Janeway smiled warmly.

Chakotay nodded to him, his manner almost friendly.

"It certainly is Captain, Commander." Tom beamed and swivelled in his seat to check the course heading.

XxX

An hour or so later, at what must have been morning coffee time, Tom was surprised to hear Chakotay instruct him to follow them into the ready room.

As Chakotay guided Janeway through the doors, Tom couldn't help noticing that the first officer's hand seemed to linger on his captain's lower back a little longer than it probably should. Janeway didn't seem to notice, however, and they led the way up to the raised seating area. Tom dutifully followed.

Crossing in front of Janeway's desk, Tom's eye was drawn to the photo of Janeway's dog that the amalgamated Captain had put up. Harry hadn't been exaggerating. It was surprisingly large and it seemed that Janeway had decided to leave it there in pride of place. The photo of her fiancé didn't appear to have reappeared. There was a new addition to the shelf though, in the form of a framed charcoal sketch of Janeway's face in profile. It was skilfully drawn, with fluid strokes. The artist had definitely captured something of her lively spirit.

"Have a seat, Tom," Janeway said, as she and Chakotay sat down next to each other on the low sofa.

Tom put what seemed like a respectable distance between himself and the command team and sat down at the other end of the sofa. As he smoothed out the creases in his trousers, he realised that he was the only one there who had been thinking about respectable distances. Chakotay's arm was draped across the back of the sofa and his captain was sitting so close that there was nothing but a hair's breadth between them.

His commanding officers' thighs might have been flush against each other, but their eyes were fixed firmly on Tom. There were absolutely no outward signs that either of them was aware that they didn't usually sit like that in front of the crew.

"Tuvok tells us that you were responsible for coordinating our restoration," Janeway began.

"And we wanted to thank you," Chakotay went on. "It takes courage to stand up to a superior officer."

"Never thought I'd be thanked for staging a mutiny." Tom smiled.

"Well, don't go making a habit of it, obviously." Janeway returned the smile, punctuating her comment by tapping her first officer's thigh with her index finger.

Chakotay didn't appear to notice. "We won't be taking any action against anyone involved," he told Tom.

"There won't be any disciplinary entries on anyone's service record," the Captain confirmed.

Bet one person isn't too happy about that, Tom thought. But then he was distracted from formulating a reply because his attention had been drawn to the arm Chakotay had draped over the back of the sofa. His hand had dipped to come into contact with Janeway's hair, which fanned out a little over the cushion. While she'd been speaking, Chakotay had been absentmindedly toying with a loose strand, twirling it between his fingers.

Tom realised he was staring and that Janeway had noticed, as one of her elegant fingers subtly prodded her first officer's thigh. Chakotay cleared his throat, and then, moving as one, they shifted away from one another an almost imperceptible amount. Janeway met Tom's gaze and sat forward, out of Chakotay's reach. Tom couldn't quite keep the question out of his expression.

"We've been having a few… issues, adapting to the separation," she offered carefully, turning her head to catch her first officer's eye.

"It may take us a little while to get back to normal," Chakotay added, the colour rising a little up his neck.

"No problem," Tom said.

"The Doctor explained it's only temporary," Janeway assured - although who exactly, Tom wasn't sure.

"It's a residual psychological effect," she began.

"as a result of having been merged," Chakotay ended.

"The Doctor says it'll wear off," she started.

"In time," he finished.

Tom couldn't suppress a small smile. "I guess it's inevitable. You have spent three months alone together and then three more days as just one person."

"What were we like as one person?" Janeway asked cautiously.

Chakotay shot her a look that seemed to say that she was asking for trouble with that line of enquiry.

Tom smiled as he reflected. "Well, let's see; you were very popular with some of the crew – a little too popular in fact. And you had a unique style of command. You were a class act. You had flair – panache. Call it what you will, but you certainly had it."

"Good to know we weren't a total disaster," Janeway drawled through a lop-sided smile.

"Far from it, Captain. You made a good team. You still make a good team, of course."

Janeway and Chakotay exchanged a look Tom found hard to read, but before they could say any more, the Doctor's voice cut in, sounding almost… cheerful.

" _Sickbay to the Ready Room. May I remind you that you both promised to call into sickbay this morning, as we discussed last night?"_

"Very good, Doctor," the command team replied in perfect unison.

Tom grinned.

Yes. It was going to be a good day.


	6. Epilogue

Epilogue

"Torres to Chakotay."

No reply. That was the third time she'd tried in the past half hour. Odd.

"Computer, locate Commander Chakotay."

" _Commander Chakotay is in his quarters_ ," the expression-free voice replied.

"Is he awake?" He must be – it was only 21.00hrs after all.

" _Affirmative_."

He hadn't turned up to play pool with Ayala either. He probably just needed some downtime on his own after everything he'd been through, but she wouldn't be a good friend if she didn't at least check that he was OK. It wasn't like him not to answer. Not like him at all. And it had been three months since she'd had a proper conversation with him.

She made her way to deck three and rang his chime. Twice. Still nothing.

"Torres to Chakotay," she tried one last time.

" _B'Elanna?_ " he finally replied, sounding… odd.

"You've not been answering all evening. I'm right outside. Are you OK?"

There was a pause. " _Oh. Sorry. Yes. I-."_ There was another pause, then, _"I'll be right there_."

B'Elanna stood and waited.

A few moments later, the door opened and Chakotay padded barefoot towards her, wearing an old t-shirt and sweatpants that were slung dangerously low on his hips. His thick hair was sticking out at some unusual angles. He actually looked kind of appealing.

While he positioned himself with one hand on the doorjamb, his large frame filling the opening, B'Elanna kicked herself mentally, reminding herself that she didn't feel like _that_ about him, and, anyway, he was her commanding officer.

"Hi," she said.

"Hi," he replied, looking a little… shifty. "What can I do for you?"

"I just wanted check you're OK."

"Thanks. Yeah. I'm fine."

Behind him, B'Elanna caught a glimpse of what appeared to be a pair of heeled regulation boots – women's boots – lying haphazardly in the middle of his living area.

"Are those _Janeway_ 's boots?" she found herself asking before her brain was in gear.

He blinked twice, but didn't turn to look. There was a long pause during which he didn't quite meet her direct gaze. B'Elanna raised her eyebrows questioningly. His free hand strayed to his ear.

Finally, he spoke. "Um. Yes."

His eyes found hers, and more seconds ticked past.

"Is there anything you want to tell me, Chakotay?" B'Elanna tested.

Another pause.

"Actually, yes," he said. Then he scrubbed a hand across his chin. "I'm glad I've got this chance to tell you first. I thought she'd want to wait a few weeks, but... Well, Kathryn has decided the sooner we tell the crew the better." He paused for a beat. "She's pregnant."

B'Elanna's mouth fell open. "The Captain. Is pregnant."

He nodded.

B'Elanna closed her mouth and struggled to join the dots. "As a result of the transporter accident."

"Maybe."

"Maybe?"

His gaze shifted to the side, then he dipped his head a little.

B'Elanna frowned. Maybe? But how else…? Then the cogs in her brain finally began to spin and immediately went into overdrive. Chakotay and Janeway had been down there on that planet alone together for nearly three months – long enough even for someone like Chakotay to try to make a move… maybe…

"Oh. Right. So... Wow." She swallowed. "And now she's-"

"Yeah."

"And, are you OK with that?"

He nodded again. "More than OK, actually, yes."

They stood opposite each other a moment and B'Elanna realised he was watching her face, his expression cautious. Then his eyes flickered away, uneasy. She quickly regrouped.

"Well, then, congratulations, you!" she punched his arm playfully, finding herself smiling at the idea of him and Janeway becoming parents. Together. Guess they were pretty committed to merging the two crews after all.

Chakotay looked up to meet B'Elanna's gaze, a shy smile lifting one corner of his mouth.

"Thanks, B'Elanna," he said, reaching for her and pulling her into a bear hug – a hug that reminded her just how much she'd missed him. Three months is a long time to go without a hug.

When he released her she stepped back. "It's good to have you back."

"It's good to be back."

"Well, I'll leave you to... you know..." B'Elanna realised she was still smiling like a fool.

He returned the smile. "Goodnight, B'Elanna."

"Goodnight, Chakotay."

[The End]


End file.
